NATIONALIST CONGRESS Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday launched a veiled attack against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying that the party in power at the Centre is spreading bitterness in society. Speaking in Sangli, Pawar said the politics of bigotry being practised in the country has made it difficult to take the country forward and maintain harmony in the society. 🗞️ Subscribe Now: Get Express Premium to access the best Election reporting and analysis 🗞️ Pawar was addressing party workers in Sangli at a political event to welcome BJP leader Shivajirao Naik into the fold. He said that in the past, politics was a medium to bring people together but now efforts were being made in the country to divide them on the basis of religion. "Elected leadership of the country is trying to defame national icons like Mahatma Gandhi," he lamented. The NCP chief said that India's founding fathers, including Mahatma Gandhi and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, worked to build the country for all communities. "However, the present dispensation is trying to defame these people," he said. "Satara, or for that matter, Maharashtra, had a leadership which worked for the development or to bring people together. But today, efforts are being made in the country to divide people on basis of religion," Pawar said. "Recently, in BJP-ruled Karnataka, a 'fatwa' was issued by some organisations where people were asked not to buy anything from shops run by members of a minority community. This type of bitterness is being spread by those elements who are in power in states. How will this country go ahead and how will we maintain harmony is a question," Pawar said. "Today, we want to fight against this bigotry. We have to do politics of development, of better future for workers and farmers. I am confident that Uddhav Thackeray, Ajit Pawar, Jayant Patil, and others will change this picture together," he said.
